This invention relates to hair bleaching compositions containing arginine, or proteins or polypeptides having a high arginine content as the characterizing ingredient.
Bleaching compositions used on hair differ from those used with textiles, fabrics, in hard surface cleansing and the like in that hair bleaching compositions, in addition to oxidizing and destroying the colored melanin of the hair, must be suitable for use in contact with the human skin and must not damage the hair excessively. Furthermore, since hair bleaches are a member of the class of materials known as cosmetics it is desirable that they be aesthetically acceptable to the user. Finally, it is desirable that a hair bleaching composition remove the melanin coloration from the hair as quickly as possible, both for the sake of convenience and to help prevent untoward damage to the hair and irritation to the skin and scalp.
Hair bleaches commonly consist of a peroxide oxidizing agent, a bleaching accelerator, and a variety of additional cosmetic and bleach stabilizing agents. Oxidizing agents such as the various hypochlorites and halogenated cyanuric acid compounds suitable for use in hard surface and fabric bleaching are not suitable for use on hair since they are too damaging and too irritating to the skin. A disadvantage to the use of peroxide bleaches on hair is that they must be used at a basic pH. The most common material for adjusting the pH of peroxide hair bleaching compositions is an aqueous solution of ammonia, commonly referred to as ammonium hydroxide. Ammonium hydroxide, while widely used in commercial bleaches, suffers from at least two major disadvantages, to wit, it is irritating to the skin and it has a disagreeable odor which cannot be masked by perfume.
Since peroxide hair bleaches have to be used at basic pH's and because of the aforementioned disadvantages to the use of ammonium hydroxide for this purpose, a variety of other bases have been suggested for use in hair bleaching compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 2,283,350, granted May 19, 1942, to N. Baum, discloses the use of aliphatic amines and hydroxyaliphatic amines as substitutes for ammonium hydroxide in hair bleaching compositions. Moreover, the concurrently filed application of Knohl and Zeffren, entitled "Hair Bleaching Compositions and Process", filed Mar. 30, 1971. Ser. No. 129,555, now abandoned, relates to hair bleaches containing various guanidine compounds.
As will be described more fully hereinafter, hair bleaching compositions containing arginine or a protein having a high arginine content as an essential ingredient eliminate the problems associated with the use of ammonium hydroxide in hair bleaching compositions in that said compositions have essentially no inherent odor and do not irritate the skin. Furthermore, the bleaching process inevitably causes some damage to the hair and this damage is usually attributed to the oxidation of cystine bonds in the hair polymer. This cystine oxidation damage is increased by higher peroxide concentrations in the bleach and by longer contact times of said bleach with the hair. In addition to the aforementioned benefits ascribable to the hair bleaching compositions of this invention, the presence of the arginine materials in said compositions quite unexpectedly permits the use of lower concentrations of peroxide and shorter bleaching times than do the prior art hair bleaches and thereby cause less hair damage. An added benefit is that the proteins and polypeptides used herein adsorb on the hair and improve its after-bleach appearance and condition.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide bleaching compositions which do not have an ammonia or amine odor and which are especially suited for use on growing hair. It is a further object to provide hair bleaching compositions which are faster acting and less damaging than prior art bleaches. It is still a further object to provide improved peroxide hair bleaching compositions containing arginine or certain proteins or polypeptides of the type hereinafter disclosed having a high arginine content. These and other objects are obtained by the present invention as will become apparent from the following disclosure.